Hat.



C. H. BLOCK HQT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21- I916.

1,215A68, Patented Feb.13,1917.

CHARLES H. BLDCK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNDE T DELI/ AR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISE 'OUEI, A CQBPGBATIGN' IVIIS$OURL HAT.

Specification of Letters latcn'c.

Patented Feb. 13, 19138.

Application filed June 21, 1816. Saris 230. 104,922.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CHARLES H.'BLO0K, a, citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, state of Missouri, have invented 21 certain new and useful Improve ment in Huts, of which-the following is :1 specification, reference heieng had to the accompanying drawing,' forming a part thereof.

This invent-ion relates generally to heed-- of various sizes.-

With the above and other obiects in View, my invention briefly resides in the provision of but having a brim comprising a bodyportion of flexible material and e resiliently adjustable heed-opening, and a crown of illustrates my invention in preferred form,

I Oi

Figure 1 is a, top plan View of :1V hat embodying my invention; I

Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is u siclc elevutioiial view of the some; 1

Fig. l is. a transverse Vertical sectional view through the hot; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the some.

Referring to the seirl drawing, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, A indicates the burly-portion of the brim of the hat.-

This brim body-portion A, which is rustle or consists of any suitable flexible material, such as, for instance, a washable fabric, and which in'the finished hut has the form of on approximately annular or ring-shepecl cesing, may be constructed in any suitable menner; in constructing this npproxixnotely ring shn'ped body-portion creasing A, however, 1 preferably first take e suieoble elongated approximately rectangular section of said nuiterinl or "fabric, said section having such nroper' dimensions may be desired in the iinishedluit, double or fold said section transversely upon isself throughout its length, and jzlaen thie two ends of the (lflllblell or folded sehtiou being brought suitably 5mnularly around, sew, as at l, the two ends of sold so doubled or folded section together, she fold. 2 1n sand. section forming the periphery or circumference of the approximately annular casing so provided, and the approximately annular opening 3 prescribed or bounded by the inner or meeting edges l of said doubled or folded section of our 'teriul forming whet is commonly known end;

designated in the trade are the headmpening ofthe hat, being that part of the hot which is designed to fit the. head, which opening 3,

as originally fol-med or-provideri, is adopted.

to'fit one certain or predetermined. size of heel d Brim body portion or casing A being so preferablyprovided, I now loosely arrange therein and thereby associate with the casing to Alford some stin'ness to the same at its rim or circumference, an annular strin or split ring 5 of any suitable leterelly resilient, but longitudinally non-elastic material, such as wire-this metallic ring 5 being of groper corresponding size or diameter to nee-lily fit around within casing or brim body-portion A at its circumferenceor fold; 2.

I then also loosely arrange within and therebyassociate with casings. a second ring 6 of any suitable elastic meiieriel and,

with said ringifi in approximately fully 'eio pended or stretched conition, sew the inner or meeting edges lof said section of materiel'together, as at 7 The elastic ring 6 be ing afterward permitted to contract to approximately normel or unstretched condition, the material of casing A will automatically neatly gather upon itself in relatively small more or less irregular outwardly ralis ting folds, as at 8. Thus head-opening 3 of the brim of the hat is resilienclv reduced in diameter or size and adepeell to yieldingly fit, within the limits of the particular hat, -mrious sizes of head smaller than seicl one certain or prefleterminefi size, the elastic ring 6 being of any suitable normel diameter lie - r and when in normalunstretched or contracted conditiondefining the smallest size of head which the finished hat at its head opening 3 is designed to fit. I

B indicates the crown of the hat, which may be o-f'any suitable shape and is also of any suitable flexible material, being prefer ably of the same material as that of brim body-portion A. Crown B atits base 9 is of considerable fullness of material. and in the construction of the hat is sewed or otherwise attached at the edge of its base 9 to brim body-portion A at or adjacent the rim of its head-opening 3, as seen clearly in- Figs. 4: and The sewing or otherwise attaching of the crown B to brim body-portion A is preferably accomplished simultaneously with the sewing together of said ,edges 4, as before described, with the elastic-ring (3 in stretched or abnormal condition. Consequently also, on ring (5 being permitted to assume its normal or unstretched condition, the material of crown l) at its base f) will similarly gather upon itself in small expandible folds, as at 10, crown I; being thereby adapted to yield at its base with headopening 3 of brim body-portion A to resiliently fit i1\terchangeably, within the limits of the particular hat, heads of various sizes.

'My new hat is very simple in form, may be inexpensively manufactured, and is readily and conveniently capable, as described, of neatly fitting interchangeably heads of various sizes.

The radial width of easing A, that is to say, the width of easing A between. 1nner elastic ring (5 and outer stiffening ring 5, is v of any suitable, or, as it may be described, extended area, so as to freely permit of the proper expansion of the head-opening in accommodating sizes o't'head larger than said smallest size, the body-portion of the brim flexibly yielding outwardly from, and with, the head-opening in accomu'iodating such sizes of head.

For the flexible material of the brim body-portion A and crown B of my new hat, I refer to use a washable fabric which may be readily 'washed or cleaned when soiled, and in order that the washing or cleaning of the hat may be conveniently accomplished, I provide casing or brim-body-portion A with a small, preferably stitched opening, as

at 1-1, through which the metallic ring 5 may ring .said head-opening,

be endwise removed from the casing A when desired, one end of the ring 5 scparably fitting in a suitable sleeve or coupling-member 12 fixed on the other end of the ring. The 5 may be afterward similarly endwise inserted into the casing A and its free end, by suitable manipulation, again. fitted into said sleeve 12.

l am aware that minor changes in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of my new hat may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention. 4

l-laving thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters latent is:

in a hat, a brim consisting of an elongated approximately rectangular section of ilexible material folded transversely upon itself throughout its length, the ends of the folded section being annularly brought into contiguous relation and fixed permanently together, the meeting edges of the folded section being also fixed together and the folded section thereby forming a hollow approximately ring-shaped casing, the central opening of the casing forminga head-opening that is originally adapted to fit a predetermined size of head, a contracting-ring of elastic material disposed within the casing at and around said head-.opening, said ring being arranged within the casing while in stretched condition and on contracting resiliently reducing the head-opening to expansibly fit sizes of head smaller than said predetermined size, a second ring disposed within the casing for stiffening the brim at and around its outer rim only said second ring being laterally resilient, but longitu dinally inextensible and of fixed circumferential length, and a crown of flexible ma terial rising from said casing and attached at its base only to the casing at and around the casing and crown being adapted to flexibly yield simultaneously with and. outwardly from thehead-opening to accommodate therewith said heads olli various sizes. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification;

CHARLES H; BLocK. 

